Day: July 25, 2016

Today was a grind of a day.  I had camped atop a ridge and either descended or ascended all day with very little level trail.  The goal was just to make sure I had less than 20 miles into Belden so that I have time to do chores.  I have a package at a trail angels house so perhaps I will have a place to stay, too.

I woke up early so I ate in the tent and was able to get out and hiking by 5:30.  I could use all the extra daylight for all the climbs of the day.  But first, it’s about four miles of downhill to the creek.  The creek ended up being more like a river with a huge bridge over it and ample camping spots on the far bank.  This was the spot I was originally shooting for yesterday, but I thought the descent would be too much so late in the day.  It was very cool in the canyon, but oddly, the ridge I slept on was very hot all night and morning, with no breeze.

I was having some pain in my left pinkie toe, so I stopped to check it out.  It looks like some of the skin near the toenail is dying and causing pain as the shoe presses on it.  There’s not much I can do about it other than cover it up to try to make the skin more supple and wait for the day when the nail falls off.  I put a blister pack on it and most of the pain is gone.  When I get new shoes at Drakesbad in a few days, the new shoes will either make it better or worse.  I can’t wait to find out which.

When I stopped for lunch, I saw the same hiker I have been leapfrogging with and he stopped and we had lunch together.  He is hiking faster to get ahead of his trail family because he will be hiking with a friend from home for a few days at an obviously slower pace and he will let his trail family pass him and he will have less distance to make up afterwards.  He hikes a bit faster than me and I only saw him today because he slept in.  He slept at the creek I was shooting for and said it was muggy hot all night and the creek was hot too.  I guess my ridge wasn’t too bad after all.

The ups and downs went on all the way to the ridgetop campsite I am camped out at now.  I loaded up on water about a mile down the ridge and it was cool and refreshing.  The campsite is among big pines and has mosquitoes, but not as bad as last night. 

I have only 16.5 miles to town, so I hope to get there by 2 PM.  It’s a very steep downhill the last five miles and I’m hoping it’s not one of those too steep trails that beat you up.  I hope I dream of washing machines all night.

I got out by 6:00 and had 14 knocked out by noon, but I can’t say that anything special happened today.  They talk about the California blues setting in after the Sierras and I guess this is why, but I can’t say that I’m blue yet.  There are climbs, there are descents, there are a few rocks, but there’s a whole lot of trees and moderately graded trails.  This would be considered a good day on the AT.

There were a few lakes throughout the morning hiking and streams throughout the afternoon hiking.  I stopped for lunch at the peak of a mountain that was pretty rocky and bare, but I found a twisted pine tree that could shade me while I rolled out my mat and cooked black bean soup while lounging.  I tried to take a nap but this is not the desert.

There was a mild breeze some of the time, but it was pretty still most of the day.  And it was pretty hot at times.  It’s not desert hot, but the weather report says it’s getting upwards of 90 in town and it felt between 85 and 90 at times.  The overall elevation is getting lower, so I do expect it to get hot pretty soon.  I’m hoping Oregon will cool things off.

Water is starting to get scarce, too.  There are usually sources five to ten miles apart and only one or two have been dry.  Many of the sources are off trail a quarter mile or more, so I need to start paying attention to where I plan to get it and how much to carry.  I have only been carrying two liters most of the time, but I might have to start carrying three.  I’ll have to see if I can find some Gatorade powder in town, too.  I’m about out and I have a feeling I will be needing it more and more over the next two or three weeks.

I had to hike until 7:15 to get water from a creek.  I was hoping there would be camping sites there, but it was quite steep and rocky.  I did not want to go much further because the trail was about to start a big five mile descent on steep terrain.  I was able to find a descent spot within a quarter of a mile.  It’s a good spot except has lots of mosquitoes and zero wind.  It’s probably going to be a hot night.  Eating with the bugs was a nuisance, but I’m in my tent now where they cannot get to me.  Pesky little buggers.

I left town a little later than I like to leave, but it was worthwhile waiting for the post office.  I was able to send me a few things home that I have not used in 1000 miles that weighed maybe half a pound and send my broken pole, umbrella, two days of food and a few other food items.  Those weighed about five to six pounds.  I had the lack loaded with four days of food and two liters of water and it felt like it weighed the same as when I came into town with one day of food and no water.

I was able to sleep pretty well last night with a dozen or so hikers close by.  Everyone was quiet and well behaved and probably tired.  There was a street light that kept going on and off and the slope I was on made me need to shift around a few times, but with the restaurant not opening until 7:30 I got to sleep in.

I was dressed and at the door of the restaurant at 7:35 and it was already half full.  I ordered the hiker special, 3 eggs, 3 pancakes, 3 slices of bacon, 3 sausage links, hash browns, and coffee.  I ate every morsel and could have eaten more.  I went back and packed and fiddled around the store a bit waiting for 10:00 to arrive.  Tick tock.

I was at the post office e at 10:05 and it was full, too.  I think I am seeing a pattern here.  Hikers all want to eat and mail things.  Ten minutes of making a box that would fit the umbrella and addressing my two packages took ten mi utes and I was outta there.  One drink and ice cream sandwich from the store and I was finally hitting the road.  I didn’t even get two blocks down the road before a truck pulled over and took me to the trailhead.  I finished my ice cream and was on the trail by 10:30.

The locals kept telling us the steep switchbacks and exposed trail would have us baking all day.  That couldn’t be further from the truth.  Nearly all the switchbacks were in thick woods and the trail wasn’t exposed until it got to the top.  It did climb some more in the sun, but there was a fantastic breeze.  It was not hot, and it was not steep.  What it was, however, was rocky and overgrown.  You had to plow your way through bushes in several sections.  Six miles later and it’s back to the normal ridge walk with rocks, then back into the woods.  Rinse and repeat.

Just after getting past most of the exposed hiking, I could see alot of smoke.  Great, another forest fire.  And it looked like it was right at the end of town or perhaps a mile out of town.  Within an hour, there were half a dozen tankers buzzing around the canyon putting it out.  They were reply fast on that one.

I hiked until right about 8 PM, wanting to get as much distance as I could from town.  I saw a few hikers throughout the day, only one went past me, so the others must have camped a little short of me.  We are buzzing around 6000-7000 feet right now, but I know we need to go to 3000 or so either tomorrow or the next day.  I hope it’s not hot desert terrain or I will regret sending my umbrella forward to Ashland, Oregon.  Perhaps siestas will be making a comeback, but I hope not.